Anishinabek advance the Anishinabek Nation Education Agreement

UOI OFFICES (Nipissing First Nation) December 3, 2016 – Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief Patrick Madahbee says that he is proud of the Anishinabek Nation citizens who voted and said yes to move the Anishinabek Nation Education Agreement with Canada forward.

“Niigaan gdizhaami – We are moving forward,” says Grand Council Chief Madahbee. “I can’t help but think about the students! The people who made this happen have really done something so important for them. What we did was historical”

The Anishinabek Nation Education Agreement is the largest self-government agreement in Canada.

The vote was held November 28 – December 2, and saw 29 communities running a vote. Official results will not be made available as to how many communities successfully ratified the agreement or the names of the communities that were successful until mid-December. 12 communities were needed to ratify to move the Anishinabek Nation Education Agreement forward.

The recognition by Canada of the Anishinabek First Nations’ jurisdiction over primary, elementary and secondary education, and the funding to operate the Anishinabek Education System (AES), a stand-alone, parallel, education system, makes up the proposed education self-government agreement with Canada.

The Anishinabek Nation established the Union of Ontario Indians as its secretariat in 1949. The UOI is a political advocate for 40 member communities across Ontario, representing approximately 60,000 people. The Union of Ontario Indians is the oldest political organization in Ontario and can trace its roots back to the Confederacy of Three Fires, which existed long before European contact.